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From YouTube: Council Minute January 6
Description
Mayor Tim Busse brings you the first Council Minute of the New Year with a new 6 p.m. meeting start time which covered Organizational Business, the Strategic Priorities Fund and Council Priorities.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
first
week
of
2021..
We
started
our
meeting
this
past
monday
at
the
new
start
time
of
six
o'clock.
Apologies,
if
you
missed
the
news
about
the
new
start
time
and
arrived
late
this
week,
just
a
reminder
that
all
of
our
meetings
will
begin
at
six
o'clock
and
we've
altered
the
agenda
so
that
public
comment
will
occur
at
the
beginning
of
each
meeting.
We're
hoping
that
these
changes
will
make
the
meetings
more
accessible
and
more
welcoming
for
residents
who
want
to
participate.
A
We
had
a
lot
of
great
discussion
on
monday
night.
So,
let's
get
to
it.
The
first
council
meeting
of
each
year
is
considered
the
organizational
business
meeting.
We've
got
a
lot
of
designations
and
appointments
that
need
to
be
done.
For
example,
we're
required
to
annually
designate
an
auditor
for
city
finances.
We
need
to
identify
the
city's
municipal
financial
advisor.
We
have
to
formally
appoint
a
council
secretary
and
identify
the
financial
institutions
where
we'll
deposit
city
funds.
A
A
Our
city
council
meetings
are
the
most
recognizable
duty
that
we
perform,
but
I'm
sure
you
know
there
is
a
lot
of
work
that
happens
outside
of
the
council,
chambers,
transit
transportation
and
workforce
development
are
very
important.
Issues
for
the
city
of
bloomington
bloomington
is
part
of
three
different
organizations
that
do
policy
and
advocacy
work
on
these
important
issues:
the
494
corridor,
commission,
the
35w
solutions
alliance
and
the
169
corridor
coalition.
Each
have
a
bloomington
council
member.
As
an
appointed
representative.
A
Bloomington's
representatives
on
these
groups
do
a
tremendous
job
of
building
effective
coalitions
and
strong
working
relationships
with
elected
officials
in
other
cities
at
the
state
level,
and
even
at
the
federal
level
that
time
and
effort
has
paid
off
big
for
bloomington
and
the
south
metro
region.
The
city
of
bloomington
also
has
three
seats
on
the
bloomington
convention
and
visitors,
bureau,
board
of
directors.
A
Now
I
don't
need
to
tell
you
how
important
the
hotel
and
entertainment
sectors
are
to
bloomington's
economy,
but
what
you
may
not
know
is
how
important
the
bloomington
economy
is
to
the
entire
state
of
minnesota
and
to
the
region
it's
more
than
a
two
billion
dollar
economic
impact
annually.
The
convention
and
visitors
bureau
and
the
city
of
bloomington
view
ourselves
as
stewards
of
this
vital
economic
engine
for
the
state
of
minnesota.
Another
organization,
you've
probably
never
heard
of-
is
the
suburban
raid
authority.
A
This
largely
unknown
group
has
been
around
since
1963
and
does
important
work
representing
cities
on
issues
related
to
the
regulated
utilities
industry.
Here
in
minnesota,
it's
a
joint
powers,
organization
of
34
cities
that
represents
more
than
850
000
residents,
the
suburban
rate
authority
weighs
in
on
rate
cases
involving
excel
energy
quest,
communications
and
center
point
energy
at
the
public
utilities
commission,
and
over
the
years.
This
group
has
saved
ratepayers
a
lot
of
money
by
intervening
in
these
regulatory
processes.
A
This
week
we
discussed
the
items
that
fit
within
our
strategic
framework.
One
of
the
most
important
things
we've
invested
in
over
the
past
several
years
is
the
housing
rehabilitation
loan
program
administered
by
the
city's
housing
and
redevelopment
authority.
The
hra
provides
low
interest
deferred
loans
to
help
homeowners
who
are
reinvesting
in
their
properties.
A
Now
this
is
a
critical
piece
of
our
strategic
pillar
of
focused
renewal,
which
aims
to
keep
our
housing
stock
in
good
shape
and
to
ensure
that
our
residential
neighborhoods
continue
to
be
attractive
and
competitive
in
the
marketplace
now
aggressively
funding
the
housing
rehabilitation
loan
program
is
especially
important
right
now.
Increasing
property
values
means
that
many
homeowners
have
additional
equity
in
their
homes
and
record
low
lending
rates
mean
that
financing
these
large
rehabilitation
or
expansion
projects
can
be
much
more
affordable
than
in
years
past.
A
The
hra's
housing
rehabilitation
loan
helps
to
close
that
gap
on
these
projects,
and
it
can
make
a
difference
for
folks
who
are
looking
to
reinvest
in
what,
for
many
people
is
their
most
valuable
investment,
their
home
more
information
about
this
is
available
on
the
city's
website.
We
also
discussed
other
projects
that
fit
within
our
strategic
plan.
A
In
the
area
of
transparency
and
engagement,
we
talked
about
initiatives
to
improve
the
accessibility
of
information
to
the
public,
as
well
as
community
involvement
in
the
development
of
the
city's
next
strategic
plan
and
related
to
our
strategic
pillar
of
high
quality
service
delivery.
We
heard
from
the
city
manager
his
intent
to
develop
more
rigorous
performance
measurements
to
ensure
that
we're
meeting
your
expectations
for
the
quality,
efficiency
and
affordability
of
the
services
we
provide.
A
One
of
the
annual
traditions
of
the
bloomington
city
council
is
to
have
a
discussion
at
the
first
meeting
of
each
year
on
issues
and
topics
that
are
of
high
priority
for
each
of
the
council
members.
The
conversation
this
week
demonstrated
that
there
is
a
lot
of
common
ground
on
the
priorities
of
this
council
topics
that
were
mentioned
by
multiple
city
council
members
included
a
restart
on
the
conversation
around
a
community
center
or
centers
of
community.
A
As
I'm
sure
you
know,
the
city's
been
looking
at
possibilities
in
this
issue
since
2014
and
that
work
stalled
out
in
late
2019,
but
as
we
think
about
the
need
to
replace
creekside
community
center
in
the
future
figuring
out.
What
it
means
for
us
to
have
communal
gathering
places
in
bloomington
is
a
critical
conversation
that
we
need
to
have.
A
Several
council
members
reiterated
the
importance
of
our
next
strategic
plan.
The
five-year
plan
we're
currently
working
under
was
developed
in
2016
and,
frankly,
as
sun,
setting
having
a
strategic
vision
for
the
future
of
the
community.
One
that's
developed
in
partnership
with
the
community
is
an
important
next
step
for
us,
as
we
continue
to
define
what
it
means
to
be
engaged
with
our
residents
and
with
our
businesses.